Both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy can allow you to keep your house if requirements are satisfied. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is especially popular with homeowners who have considerably equity since it allows them to stay in their home and continue making payments while they pay off all, or a portion of, their other debts through a repayment plan..

Offer a variety of deferment options: Discover offers four different deferment options for borrowers. If you decide to go back to school, you may be eligible for in-school deferment as long as you are enrolled for at least half-time. In addition to in-school deferment, Discover offers deferment to borrowers on active military duty (up to 3 years), in eligible public service careers (up to 3 years) and those in a health professions residency program (up to 5 years).
The Island Approach also gives you a built-in warning system for overspending. If you ever see finance charges on an account earmarked for everyday expenses, you’ll know you’re overspending. Separating everyday expenses from a balance that you’re carrying from month to month will help you save on finance charges, too. Interest charges are based on an account’s average daily balance, after all.
We’ll explain each of the four pillars of credit repair in detail below. Just remember, each step on its own will not be enough to completely fix your credit. Credit repair, after all, is like peeling an onion: You have to peel away a few layers before you get to the good stuff. But we’ll try our best to make sure your credit recovery doesn’t bring you to tears.
In some cases, it might be difficult to determine what to include as far as supporting documentation goes — that’s another way a credit repair company can help you. For example, if you’re a victim of identity theft and a fraudulent account is appearing on your credit report, it can be tough to prove it isn’t yours since you naturally don’t have any documents relating to the account.
The intro offers, coupled with the rewards program make The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express the frontrunner among balance transfer cards, outpacing competitors. This card presents cardholders with the unique opportunity to transfer a balance and make a large purchase during the intro period, all while earning rewards on new purchases. To qualify for this card, you need Excellent/Good credit.
Because MidSouth Community is a federal credit union, you need to be a member to qualify for this card. Membership is limited to people who work, live, worship, or attend school in the following Middle Georgia counties: Bibb, Baldwin, Crawford, Hancock, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Twiggs, Washington, and Wilkinson. If you qualify, you may be able to get a secured card with an APR as low as 10.90% Variable.
If you are unable to qualify for a balance transfer deal or personal loan that makes financial sense, and you prefer to not touch any of your assets, you may want to set up a chat with a reputable credit counseling firm to see if you are a good candidate for a Debt Management Plan (DMP). A DMP can make it easier for you to pay your credit card bills, but it will likely have a negative impact on your credit score.
You've probably seen advertisements for credit repair on television or heard them on the radio. Maybe even seen credit repair signs on the side of the road. You don't have to hire a professional to fix your credit. The truth is, there is nothing a credit repair company can do to improve your credit that you can’t do for yourself. Save some money and the hassle of finding a reputable company and repair your credit yourself. The next steps will show you how.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a federal law that was passed in 1978, provides guidelines on the actions that debt collectors can take when they try to get consumers to make payments on their debts. It prohibits abusive, deceptive or unfair practices and puts limits on when and how third-party debt collectors can contact people who owe money.

Companies that want you to lie about credit history or create a new credit identity can get you into legal trouble. Companies that provide “new” identifying information use stolen Social Security numbers, and if you use this number then you are committing fraud. Likewise using an Employee Identification Number or Credit Profile Number provided by these companies is a crime. Rather than committing fraud, take the steps below to improve credit on your own.

There is still one way to legitimately get your credit fixed fast, usually within 7 days and many times within 3 days. This fast method of credit repair is called “Rapid Rescore” and is ONLY available to mortgage companies. The rapid rescore program was created for the mortgage industry to use when clients had legitimate easily solvable disputes. Examples of some of the easy disputes typically had to do with the timing of updates. For example if a client had recently paid down a balance, received a higher credit limit or resolved a dispute in advance and is in possession of such proof. They can use this proof, submit it to the broker or loan officer who in turn submits it to their “local” credit bureau. The update is manually verified with the creditor, updated, then rescored. The hope and desire is that the client will have a higher credit score due to the changes and qualify for a better rate.

This deal is easy to find – Chase is one of the biggest banks and makes this credit card deal well known. Save with a 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers for 15 months and Intro $0 on transfers made within 60 days of account opening. After that: Either $5 or 5%, whichever is greater. You also get a 0% Intro APR on Purchases for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, and $0 annual fee. After the intro period, the APR is currently 16.74% - 25.49% Variable. Plus, see monthly updates to your free FICO® Score and the reasons behind your score for free.’
Get the advice of a nonprofit credit counselor before consolidating your credit card debt. Credit counseling offers free debt help and the expert advice could save you time and money. You may find out that your debts are indeed overwhelming and bankruptcy is best your option, or that your debts are judgment proof and thus you have nothing to lose by defaulting.
If you’ve missed enough payments that an account was sent to collections, it can be a tricky proposition. Leave it alone, and it will continue to appear as a blemish on your credit report for a long time. But pay it off, and it still might hurt your score in the short term. Luckily, there’s another way to deal with collections that will help—not hurt—your score, and that’s paying for deletion. Just like it sounds, you’ll contact the collections agency (which will love to hear from you!) and make a deal; if you send in full payment, the collections company will erase the negative reporting from your credit. They may even take less than 100 cents on the dollar to do so – as many debts settle for far less than what was originally owed. Just make sure get this arrangement in writing and mail a check to them certified mail with “Cash only when you delete the account from my credit report” written right above the endorsement line.
This is a basic balance transfer deal with an above average term. If you don’t have credit card balances with Discover, it’s a good option to free up your accounts with other banks. With this card, you also have the ability to earn cash back, and there is no late fee for your first missed payment and no penalty APR. Hopefully you will not need to take advantage of these features, but they are nice to have.
• I then added her to 3 of my credit cards as an authorized user. I choose the oldest with high credit limits.(I did not give her the cards to use-only added her as an authorized user for my own protection) BEFORE being added as an authorized user be SURE you know the credit history and habits of the owner of the account. If there is a late payment on their account this will be reflected on YOUR credit history!
Premier America is unique because it has the Student Mastercard® from Premier America CU that’s eligible for the intro 0% for 6 months on balance transfers, though credit limits on that card are $500 – $2,000. There is an 11.50% Variable APR after the intro period. There’s also a card for those with no credit history – the Premier First Rewards Privileges® from Premier America CU, with limits of $1,000 – $2,000 and a 19.00% Variable APR. If you’re looking for a bigger line, the Premier Privileges Rewards Mastercard® from Premier America CU is available with limits up to $50,000 and a 8.45% - 17.95% Variable APR.
A home equity loan might be a good option for you. If you’re looking to find a loan, LendingTree (the parent company of MagnifyMoney) might be able to help. With its online marketplace, you’re able to use one form to potentially be matched with up to five offers at once. First choose the type of property you need the home equity loan for, such as a condo, single family home or a townhouse. Then finish completing the form by adding your personal information and you’ll instantly receive offers available to you.
There is the option to apply for the Cash Back Platinum Plus Visa Credit Card from Michigan State FCU or the Platinum Visa Card from Michigan State FCU. The Platinum Visa Card from Michigan State FCU has a lower ongoing APR at 8.90% APR - 16.90% variable, compared to the 12.90% APR - 17.90% variable APR for the Cash Back Platinum Plus Visa Credit Card from Michigan State FCU which can earn 1% cash back on all purchases. Anyone can join the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union by first becoming a member of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs. However, this comes at a high fee of $30 for one year.
Risks: Overall, a student card can be a great asset for your teen to have in college, but there are a few risks to beware of. If your teen overspends so much that they max out their credit limit, they risk harming their utilization rate — which is the amount of credit they use divided by their total credit limit. For example, if your teen has a $500 credit limit and uses $400, their utilization rate would be 80% ($400/$500). That’s very high, and we recommend keeping utilization below 30%.
You're the best. My mom added me as an authorized user to a couple of her cards (when I was 12, and she never even told me about it), but they're at 99% utilization and have late payments! I'm still in the process of trying to get myself removed from those, and getting those accounts completely removed from my credit report, not just listed as closed accounts.
Consolidating credit cards and leveraging low balance transfer offers has the potential to increase your credit score. But to accomplish this, it’s important to follow a few pointers. For example, for the general population, 30 percent of the FICO® Credit Score is determined by “credit utilization,” which is the amount of credit actually being used.1

My wife and I recently decided we wanted to buy a home better suited to starting a family and sell our townhouse (which she owned when we met). I didn't have the best, let's say, track record with financials in my past and my credit was abysmal. I hit rock bottom 2.5 years ago when my car ( a beautiful fully loaded Jeep) was reposed on Xmas eve morning. Even then, although angry and ashamed, I didn't do much to help myself out. My 20's, which were years of partying, spending and generally speaking not caring had finally caught up. I was 29. So, we got to work with fixing things. Paying off creditors, paying down debts, making on time payments, etc. When we had my credit run about 6 weeks ago, it was 588. This was much higher than the 410 I had a couple years ago, but still a far cry from good. (Side note here, be mindful of using credit cards that track your fico score, or having a credit bureau account that gives you your score. There are around 30 different scores that are used, and different scores are used for different types of inquires (auto loan is different than mortgage)). So we got to work, paid off the last couple things and really started paying attention to what was happening. One thing I can't stress enough is every year, you're allowed to get 3 free credit reports, 1 from each bureau. You MUST do this each year. This is where I found my credit windfall. I was able to uncover the fact that a debt that had been paid of was still being reported as open and late. I also found a debt that wasn't mine! A big one. $1700 showing open and late for 2 years with a collector. I filled a report with the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) and they started an investigation. The company that had this debt wrote me a letter saying that even though I had no proof that the debt wasn't mine, they would absolve it and would contact the 3 credit bureaus to have the reporting removed and cleared. At this point, I called my broker and said it's time to run the simulator. They ran it, and then performed what is called a Rapid Rescore. Some brokers charge for this; good ones don't. Since they are trying to get your business they will do it for free. If it's at cost, it's roughly $10 per item per report. If you have a lot of issues it can add up. Anyhow, they did the rescore, did the simulator, ran a hard inquiry and BOOM, 657.

This deal is easy to find – Chase is one of the biggest banks and makes this credit card deal well known. Save with a 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers for 15 months and Intro $0 on transfers made within 60 days of account opening. After that: Either $5 or 5%, whichever is greater. You also get a 0% Intro APR on Purchases for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, and $0 annual fee. After the intro period, the APR is currently 16.74% - 25.49% Variable. Plus, see monthly updates to your free FICO® Score and the reasons behind your score for free.’
But even if you have a low credit score, go ahead and do the research to see if you can find a better deal than the one you have right now. "Those with the best credit scores typically qualify for the best rates on their new personal loans, but don't let an average or even poor score keep you from requesting quotes," says Norris. "This is especially true if you have more than $10,000 in credit card debt and those cards charge exorbitant interest rates, which most of them do."

This is a riff off the strategy to pay before the statement date for those that cannot make a lump sum payment, similar to making bi-monthly payments to reduce your mortgage debt faster. For a 30-year mortgage, this strategy results in reducing the balance before interest is charged every month and in making an additional month’s payment every year, effectively reducing the loan term and interest charges dramatically over the life of the loan. For credit card payments, it can also mean the difference between being able to pay extra and not being able to pay extra during the month. So try making one payment before the statement date and another payment by the due date to pay down the balance as quickly as possible.

If your credit score is pretty good, but not good enough to get you the interest rate you want, you may be able to improve it by taking out a small loan and repaying it as promised – in other words, by adding some positive activity to your credit history. Also, because installment loans add to your mix of credit, obtaining one might improve your score.
It's tempting, isn't it? Getting rid of all of your credit card bills, no more annoying multiple payment to multiple creditors, just one, automatic loan payment every month that comes out of your account automatically and you're back on the road to being debt free, right? Well sure—but it comes with a couple of pretty big caveats that might sour the milk for you. Let's explain, and then you can decide whether it's a good idea in your case.
Before you consolidate credit cards, make sure you have a clear payment plan that can help you tackle your debt. Beware of simply moving your debt from credit cards to another form of debt; it may feel like you’re suddenly debt-free but you are definitely not. You’ve simply reorganized your debt and it should become more manageable now. If you fail to make sizeable, consistent payments toward your debt, you could find yourself back in the same cycle of debt. Also, when selecting your consolidation method — for example, an intro 0% APR credit card, personal loan, etc. — be sure to look closely at the fees you may be charged. The fees are typically outweighed by the amount you save in interest, but it’s a good idea to review them.
This is a basic balance transfer deal with an above average term. If you don’t have credit card balances with Discover, it’s a good option to free up your accounts with other banks. With this card, you also have the ability to earn cash back, and there is no late fee for your first missed payment and no penalty APR. Hopefully you will not need to take advantage of these features, but they are nice to have.
Because MidSouth Community is a federal credit union, you need to be a member to qualify for this card. Membership is limited to people who work, live, worship, or attend school in the following Middle Georgia counties: Bibb, Baldwin, Crawford, Hancock, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Twiggs, Washington, and Wilkinson. If you qualify, you may be able to get a secured card with an APR as low as 10.90% Variable.
With credit counseling out of the way and a clear decision made to file Chapter 13, the next step is to review the district courts in your state to determine which court should receive your paperwork. After determining the right court, you’ll want to go to their website and download the local forms that the local court requires for your filing, most notably the Chapter 13 Plan, Form 113, which may require the federal form or a local form.
If you find that you're always struggling to have enough money in your account, establishing automatic payments is a simple way to pad your savings. "When you get your direct deposit from your payroll, you can set it up with your bank that a certain portion automatically goes into your savings account," says Danial Tariq, vice president at Quontic Bank in New York City. "The idea is that you do not spend what you get. You are not tempted to spend a portion of your income because you don't even see it. It's human [nature to think] 'Oh, I have $500. I can spend $500.'"

If you’re financially drowning, of course you can declare bankruptcy. The problem is that bankruptcy is a serious derogatory mark on your credit. It won’t prevent you from getting credit in the future, but for a time some credit products will be unavailable to you and others will come at very steep prices. Also, not all debts can be discharged in a bankruptcy.

Harzog was a successful freelance journalist for over 20 years, writing for major national magazines and custom publications. She became so entrenched in the credit industry, that in 2008, she was approached by CardRatings.com to be a credit card spokesperson for their site. In 2010, Harzog then went on to become the credit card expert for Credit.com.

The exact number of points anyone’s credit score may drop for negative credit behaviors or improve with positive behaviors varies because everyone’s credit file is made up of a different combination of several factors. For example, the higher your score to begin with, the steeper the drop for any negative credit behaviors and with a lower starting score you may see more of a score increase for positive credit behaviors.

Discover Financial Services and Fair Isaac are not credit repair organizations as defined under federal or state law, including the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Discover Financial Services and Fair Isaac do not provide “credit repair” services or assistance regarding “rebuilding” or “improving” your credit record, credit history or credit rating.
You don't have to pay your bill in full to have your payment count as on-time; you only have to pay the minimum (though that isn't there to do you any favors – it's there to keep you in debt: You'll be paying lots of interest, and paying off your balance for years). However, if it's all you can afford, you're better off making the minimum payment on time than not making a payment at all. The important thing to remember here is that a consistent history of on-time payments will cause your credit rating to rise.
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It's tempting, isn't it? Getting rid of all of your credit card bills, no more annoying multiple payment to multiple creditors, just one, automatic loan payment every month that comes out of your account automatically and you're back on the road to being debt free, right? Well sure—but it comes with a couple of pretty big caveats that might sour the milk for you. Let's explain, and then you can decide whether it's a good idea in your case.
Although the number of bankruptcy filings since 2005 seems high, not everyone decides to file bankruptcy to deal with their financial issues. There are other options for consumers who find themselves unable to pay off their debts and facing multiple collections actions, and those other options might be a better choice for some consumers. These options include:

If you have impossibly high interest on those credit cards, then do cancel them. It doesn’t help to have open credit cards if the interest rate makes it nearly impossible for you to get the balance down. In fact, banks currently have hardship programs, where they will reduce your interest rate TO ZERO if you agree that they will cancel your cards. Yes, you wll take an immediate hit on your credit score, but that will quickly improve as you pay down your credit cards, which you can now do because you don’t have those usurious interest rates to pay.